Young Northland FC central defender Alex Kelly was in the thick of action in the the high scoring encounter at Morningside Park. Photo/Laurence Berry
Young Northland FC central defender Alex Kelly was in the thick of action in the the high scoring encounter at Morningside Park. Photo/Laurence Berry
Northland FC fought off a spirited comeback by Rotorua United to take a 6-3 advantage into the second leg of their promotion shootout next week.
The teams are vying for the opportunity to step up into the country's top women's club league next season after winning their respective leagues this season.
There were plenty of goals in the first leg at Morningside Park on Sunday, with the home side missing a penalty but still taking a 2-0 lead into the halftime break, thanks to a double to striker Nicole Stratford.
The visitors came out firing in the second half and scored in the 54th and 58th minutes, through Annalise Heuvel and Kim-Emmanuelle Maguire to throw the game wide open, but Northland responded quickly with their inspirational captain Stratford finding the net twice more in the following five minutes to take a 4-2 lead.
Rotorua weren't finished and again surged back into contention with a 66th-minute goal to Hayley Merriman closing the gap to one.
With Stratford forced off the field with a rib injury, midfielder Anja Gross stepped up and her goal 20 minutes before time earned some breathing space before Millie Boom's strike with just three minutes remaining gave the team a three-goal buffer going into the return fixture in Rotorua next Sunday.
Northland coach Carl Compaan said the game was a real thriller.
"There was a huge sigh of relief for us in the end but credit to our back line, Alex Kelly was really strong at the back and Anya Gross was really outstanding, too," he said.
"Our two defensive midfielders Kayleigh Knight and Jonelle Abbot were excellent for us today; anything that Rotorua played forward today they screened and that gave us the opportunity to move forward and once again our attack played well with Nicole Stratford getting four goals."
Northland FC captain Nicole Stratford scored four goals in another inspirational performance. Photo/Laurence Berry
Stratford's injury, although painful, is unlikely to keep her from the return fixture.
"Her ribs are stuffed but I'm pretty sure she'll be right by next week," Compaan said.
The coach said that Rotorua showed enough talent to make sure that they won't be taken lightly next week after beating the Northland defence a few too many times.
"They put us under plenty of pressure... and their goalkeeper Amanda Wilshier made heaps of good saves and their centreback Maryanne Gibbs was also excellent," he said.
The result sees Northland optimistic of overcoming the final hurdle and gaining promotion into the NRFL women's premier league, despite having a few players unavailable to travel to Rotorua.
"We're always confident. I think you have to be...we'll have different personnel next week with some players unavailable but that won't make a difference," he said.
Northland has a big squad and if the players don't play one week then circumstances dictate that they will probably play the next week.
Compaan said if Northland does qualify and the Northland FC board decides to opt for promotion then it will be a big learning curve for the team.
"It will be a great opportunity for the young players that we are trying to bring through. If you're going to play with the big boys, then of course your game is going to improve. We know it will be hard to play at that level but the girls have already shown they can rise to a challenge and of course you don't know who's going to come out of the woodwork."
He said there were a number of players, in Whangarei and further north, who might be tempted to pull on their boots for Northland FC again if they qualified for the NRFL premier league.
